The Journeys That Intertwine
by melonstyle
Summary: Antonio wanted Lovino to travel around the world with him. Arthur and Alfred wanted to get their memories back. Mathias and Lukas just wanted to stop regretting their pasts. Their respective stories all connect to one another. Spamano/USUK/DenNor


**_So like, I have this habit of getting new story ideas all the time. My bad, oopsies. As usual, this is an AU and it's a bit of an ensemble cast with heavy focus on Spamano, USUK and DenNor. Though I'd have to say, the characters most prominent are Antonio and Lovino, who kind of just sneak their way into everything, haha. The human names are being used and there's some things tweaked here and there. Like Roderich and Elizabeta are going to be older and Vash and Lillian/Lilli are going to be their kids. But hey, they're King, Queen, Prince and Princess and you know that Royalty is kickass. The setting is somewhat inspired by the 16/1700s and the country of Italy, which I travelled around earlier this year. Twas amazing. C:_**

**_Oh yeah, with the human names for this chapter..._**

**_Lukas = Norway  
>Vicente = Portugal<br>Lillian = Liechtenstein  
>Mathias = Denmark<br>Clara = Belgium_**

**_So anyway, I hope you enjoy this fic because well, it's a story very close to my heart. It was going to be an original fic but APH was biting my brain and I got inspired to write a fanfic version. And this here is the prologue, which takes place a few years after the beginning of the story in times of the timeline. So we'll have this prologue and the next chapter will go back about three years and we'll work our way back to this spot and surpass it. Yes? Yes._**

**_Now read!_**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Lovino lunged forward, his rapier and the captain of the Douce Fantaisie's clashing against one another. He pushed forward, each of them teetering on the branch that hung over the one river that rushed through the jungle. 'Just a little more, dammit,' Lovino told himself silently, trying to force the man opposing him off-balance. But his skinny frame proved not to be much of a fight for Captain Francis Bonnefoy.

"I'll get you to submit, Lovino!" Francis declared, drawing back his sword before lunging forward again. This blow had much more force behind it and Lovino had to step back towards the trunk of the tree. He glanced downwards briefly. The fall... would render him unconscious at the least. He gulped, realising that he was being forced on the defensive. "Your blood will be mine," the Douce Fantaisie captain added, reminding Lovino of how he got into this fight in the first place. This reminder only infuriated him further, but he couldn't do anything other than block. "It will!"

"Fuck you!" Lovino spat at him. And the next thing he knew, the other pinned him up against the tree trunk. He shuddered as Francis leaned forward, his smile sinister and his eyes dark. The more he looked into his eyes, the more frozen in place he became. "I don't care that my blood's good for some fucking ritual! You're not having it, dammit!" Then he bit down hard on his lip as Francis snatched his rapier and tossed it away.

"It's only a few drops, Lovino..." Francis responded in a low voice, stabbing his own sword into the tree branch. Then he took a knife and clasped at Lovino's hand. He pressed the blade against his flesh and just as he was about to slice, he felt a cool metal pressing at the back of his neck and the click of a gun.

"Francis, I'm afraid that if you don't drop your weapons... I'm going to have to pull the trigger."

At the sound of the newcomer's voice, Lovino remembered his surroundings, letting a gasp escape his lips. How could he not notice him make his entrance? His thick-headed but cheerful nature was always easy to detect, not to mention the axe he was wielding in his other hand. Come to think of it, the branch was lowered slightly with the new weight on it.

"Antonio..!" That was the only sound Lovino could bring to escape his lips. Francis was now the one frozen in place.

"Ah, I wondered when you'd show up~" was all Francis could summon as a response. He slowly turned his head and was met with Antonio's piercing stare. "...You wouldn't really hurt a friend, would you..?"

"Try me," Antonio responded, quirking a brow. "Drop your weapons, amigo." He held the gun firmly in response, waiting for the other to let go of Lovino's hand and drop the knife.

The red-headed male pinned up against the tree trunk took the opportunity to snatch the knife from Francis' hand. He pressed the sharp edge of the blade against Francis' neck. "Your game ends now, Captain Bastard," Lovino hissed, sending him his fiercest glare.

Francis couldn't summon up a response. He wasn't pleased, that was certain. Then, in the blink of an eye, Francis grabbed his rapier and swung it round, knocking Antonio's revolver from his hand and sending it plummeting to the ground. Then he thrust his sword forward, causing Antonio to yelp and leap back to dodge it. He glanced downwards, realising that the weight of him and his axe was causing the end of the branch to weaken. Axes weren't that ideal, he realised, as he could only lean one way or another, leap or duck in order to dodge Francis' oncoming attacks. And the fact that Francis was pushing him further to the end of the branch didn't help.

Lovino took one look at his knife and then observed the weapons of the other two as they fought. The knife, though sharp, was pathetic in comparison to Francis' rapier and Antonio's prized axe. "...Ugh," he sighed, "I'm standing here comparing weapon size, fucking hell." Without further ado, he rushed further and plunged the knife into Francis' shoulder, just as he was about to force Antonio off the branch at last. "Take this, dammit..!"

Blood spilled from the fresh wound and Francis yelled out in pain, as his weapon slipped from his grasp and splashed into the river below. He glanced over his other shoulder and shot Lovino a glare. Then his arm reached round and yanked the bloodied knife out, causing him to cry out again. The look in his eyes frightened the other, who backed towards the tree trunk once more. But before anything further could happen, Antonio swung his axe around and whacked Francis with the flat of the axe. The two watched as Francis plunged into the river below.

A member of his crew rushed to his aide, trying to pull him out again but as far as Antonio and Lovino were concerned, they were safe. Enough, anyway.

"Lo siento," Antonio finally breathed out some words as he paced carefully across the branch to join Lovino at the trunk. "I didn't think he would-" He was silenced by a pair of lips, followed by hands gripping tightly to the front of his shirt. So he lowered his axe and slung a hand around the waist, responding eagerly. Before he considered dropping his axe in favour of kissing Lovino senseless, the other pulled away with tomato red dusting his cheeks.

"...Took you long enough to come find me, bastard," Lovino puffed out his cheeks.

Antonio blinked. "Oh! Lo-"

"I love you," Lovino cut him off. He averted his eyes. Antonio fell silent, staring at him with wide eyes. A couple moments passed. Lovino looked up again. "Say something, you stupid fuck."

"...That's the first time you've said it," Antonio finally said. "I knock one of my best friends off a tree and after that is when you choose to say it..?"

Lovino turned a brighter shade of red. When Antonio worded it like that... "Shut the hell up, dammit..!"

With a laugh, Antonio tossed his axe towards the foot of the tree and threw his arms around the other. "I don't believe you! We've been through so much and now you say it?"

"I said shut up..!" Despite his response, Lovino did return the hug. He felt much more secure like this.

"I love you too," Antonio replied softly, setting Lovino's heart aflutter. He closed his eyes, finding himself relaxing in his embrace...

...and then he heard a gunshot, a bullet flying past the back of his head. The pair sprung apart and glanced down to see their fellow crewmember Lukas Bondevik, aiming his revolver at them. And behind him was the rest of their crew, all with mixed expressions. Their captain and Antonio's brother, Vicente was frowning in disapproval. Lukas narrowed his eyes at the pair, looking less than impressed.

"Come on, lovebirds," Lukas said in a monotonous voice, "everyone's waiting for you to get down."

"You may not be giving your blood to Francis, but you have to give me yours as part of your contract to the Buscando Verdade," Vicente reminded Lovino, who rolled his eyes at him.

"I get it, I get it..!" Lovino answered with a scowl. He glanced back at Antonio. "We're moving again, dammit."

'Dammit' was correct. He didn't want to move from where he was with Antonio before. It was perfect. Yet he wanted to keep moving. That was the whole reason why he was here in the first place. And if it weren't for Antonio, he would still be back in the kingdom of Bussola watching his brother lead a fantastic life with the Beilschmidt Bastard Brothers. The Triple B. Also known as the Bloody Beilschmidt Bastards. The Brain-dead Beilschmidt Bitches.

In any case, Lovino didn't like them. Yet they were exactly the pair his brother Feliciano was happy to have around. And his parents and everyone else adored Feliciano. There was nothing worth staying for in Lovino's eyes. For Feliciano and the rest of the Vargas family, there were plenty of reasons. But Lovino sought happiness elsewhere. So he had to keep moving.

There was a time where Lovino couldn't move anywhere. He really was frozen in place with someone pinning him into place. But everytime he felt trapped, it seemed to be Antonio who kept saving him. Even from the very beginning...

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Arthur, hey Arthur!"

Arthur looked up from the book he was reading and quirked a brow at the oncoming person. It was none other than Alfred Jones, who had flung his arms around him in a bone crushing embrace. The older of the two blondes huffed as the hug caused him to drop his book. "I'll lose my place, you twat!" he complained before reaching up his hands to awkwardly hug Alfred back. Then he withdrew from him to scoop the book back up.

Alfred let out a cheery laugh and pointed out ahead of him. The pair were riding on a horse carriage with Alfred being the one controlling the horses. What they saw ahead was the famous Danze Città, where many of the nobles of Bussola lived. At least two of the princess' potential fiances were born here, Arthur himself one of them. The other two owned estates here as well. But the place itself was magnificent. The city appeared flawless, with amazing statues and vibrant colours and accentuating arches. And the people were so vibrant and happy and upbeat on life. Arthur never really appreciated it, but when he saw how Alfred was in awe everytime they came here, he saw a beauty to the city.

"I miss being here!" Alfred grinned from ear to ear.

"I know," Arthur replied, trying to find where he was in the book again. "It's been two years, hasn't it?"

The carriage was brought to a stop. Alfred turned his head to face Arthur, the memories resurfacing. Both of them could remember. They remembered how blank their minds were and how there was so much in the world they knew little about. And they remembered the pair who helped show them the world again and recover their knowledge. Lovino was one and Antonio was the other. Though neither Arthur nor Alfred once voiced it, they really were truly grateful for everything they'd done.

It was only a couple of years ago since they last saw those two, the chaotic thieving duo with goodness in their hearts. And Arthur was the only one of the two to know that Lovino Vargas too was once a resident of Danze Città. His father, the great Lord Cesarino Vargas ruled this very town. The entire Vargas family was based here, each with their own estates spread across the town. Even King Roderich and his family owned a giant property here that he often visited in the summer. Arthur remembered the last time he and Alfred visited and how much Lovino didn't want to be back here. Despite how beautiful the city was to outsiders like Alfred, Arthur knew that this city had darker threads woven into it. Everytime he glanced at Antonio when they were there, Arthur realised that he knew it too.

But Alfred never got it. He was never going to understand, Arthur had decided. It didn't matter, he also decided, for Alfred's optimism was admirable and endearing. He flushed upon thinking that, but it was true.

"It's been two years," Arthur repeated. A silence passed between the two and then Alfred started the horses up again. They rode along quietly, the carriage occasionally jerking upwards over bumps in the road. Once they reached the grand Castello Fountain, which was situated at the city's heart, Alfred halted again. "Way to stop in the most obvious part of town," he commented, narrowing his eyes. Alfred turned his head.

"I was just thinking... Lovino hated this place, didn't he?" Alfred's question caused Arthur's eyes to widen. It was the first time Alfred had ever well, made a comment on Lovino's feelings regarding Danze Città.

Arthur nodded slowly. "As a matter of fact, yes. Yes, he did."

Upon hearing Arthur's confirmation, Alfred continued to speak. "...Lovino never did tell me why. Did he ever tell you why? You were born here... and the Kirklands were pretty important here, so I had a thought. When you regained your memories, the memories you had of this place were returned to you as well, right? Did the Kirklands know a lot about what was going on? What's Lovino's connection to this town?"

It took a long moment of thinking before Arthur could respond. He had to delve into his memories and well, everything seemed so vague. It didn't help much that he never really paid much attention to Lovino back then or even the family in general. It occurred to him just then that Lovino never told Alfred his last name. Anyway, the Vargas family dominated this city and invited Kirklands and other nobles to fancy parties and that was all Arthur cared for. Did he care a lot more back then? He wasn't sure. After all, it was two years ago and things had changed since then.

"Alfred, you should probably know that Lovino was from the Vargas family," Arthur began. Alfred opened his mouth to speak but Arthur continued, "there were a lot of scandals going on and the Beilschmidts from out of town got involved too. There was debate between who would become a potential fiance for Princess Lillian out of Feliciano and Lovino, but then Gilbert messed everything up, which was why you never ever got to meet Feliciano. I was told Lovino got into a jealous rage, cursed out his entire family and started hating them and that's why he left."

Alfred gave this some thought and shook his head. "I don't think he hated them. And besides, he didn't seem all that bothered about the whole 'Who would marry Princess Lillian' thing."

"Indeed," Arthur nodded in agreement. "But no, Lovino never did explain everything. Antonio seemed to know but he didn't say a word either."

"We should go meet Feliciano, seeing as we're in town!" Alfred suggested, an enthusiastic twinkle in his eyes. "All we have to do is say that we're the heroes of the Grande Città di Luce... and that we're Lovino's best friends! He'd tell us everything, right?"

"I seriously doubt it," frowned Arthur, "we're not his best friends either. We barely know a thing about them. He knows a lot more about us than we'll ever know about him. Besides, you wanker, don't you think it would be too much of a sensitive topic to bring up to any member of the Vargas family?"

Alfred drooped slightly. "I guess. Oh! Then let's go see Lovino! Last time we heard from him, he and Antonio said they were joining up with the Buscando Verdade Pirates, right?" Arthur rolled his eyes; Alfred was always seeking an excuse for adventure. "You said you always wanted to know what it was like sailing out at sea..."

Arthur flushed, not expecting Alfred to remember that. He reached up and tapped his book against the top of Alfred's head. "Let's go then. Take us to the Porto Villaggio di Est... I think that was the name, yes."

His response came much quicker than Alfred anticipated. And he was being agreeable too! His bright blue eyes widened and in his moment of excitement, he leaned in and kissed Arthur on the cheek before getting the horses to start trotting along again. Arthur immediately blushed a bright shade of crimson and pretended that his book was so much more interesting now! He flicked the book back open onto a completely random page. His eyes scanned the page and he could see words and he could see words clearly, yet he took in not a single piece of information. He inwardly blamed Alfred.

But he really was supportive of Alfred's idea to go see Lovino. He too liked adventure and the concept of sailing out on a large ship fascinated him. The day Lovino and Antonio left to go say goodbye and hopped aboard the great Sete Mares to explore and discover treasure with Antonio's brother, Arthur felt a slight emptiness inside.

Antonio knew so much about this world and what Lovino knew was what he'd taught him. But together they were a fountain of knowledge that Arthur couldn't have elsewhere. It had only been months since they were gone, but even so, Arthur had grown accustomed to the travelling companions he'd been with for the past two years. He would have everyone else believe that he was content with just Alfred or rather, he was most content being on his own... but that was no longer true. At first he hated the others but then he became accustomed to them. They had been through so much...

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It all began with Mathias Densen.

He wanted to win the love of Clara van Wubbell three years , he wanted her love even before that. She was the sunshine in his life. But since two years ago, he could no longer face her. Within one year, he had screwed up everything. But now that he was with the Buscando Verdade Pirates, he was going to fix the past and set everything right again. That was his plan.

When he saw Antonio and Lovino passionately embrace one another up in that tree, he couldn't help but feel envious of them. How could they have it so good? He ignored the fact that within these past five minutes, their lives were in danger. That wasn't the point. They loved each other. They could be with each other and not feel regret. They could tackle danger head on without worry that they're going to repeat a mistake once made.

The amount of jealousy Mathias felt burned to the core. Only Lukas could see it, which was why he took out his gun and opened fire to make them stop. He didn't want the envious turmoil to keep surging through Mathias' mind. Mathias gave him a grateful grin for that and Lukas nodded.

A silent understanding.

But yes, Mathias felt like he'd done everything wrong with his life. The reality was that he accepted his task and let it dictate his life. He wanted Clara to love him desperately, that was the only reason why. Once he was so free-spirited too... When he explained himself to Lukas, the only one he would ever explain himself to, Lukas only had one response for him.

"That's why you don't fall in love," he said bitterly. "It ruins you."

Mathias only felt depressed when he first heard those words. Yet when he thought about his actions up to now, maybe it did ruin him.

"_Mathias, there's a huge favour I want you to do. My brother's a possible fiance for Princess Lillian and he needs a bodyguard for completing the task. Could you do it for me?"_

If it was Clara asking, Mathias could never say no.

He said yes. And when he announced to his friends in a bar that he was leaving to go on a journey, they all cheered him on. He would do this favour and win Clara's love. It was going to be awesome! And when Clara told him that he would find her brother in the Danze Città, it was her friend Antonio who said he knew the way and could direct him there.

When Mathias thought about it, it was he who gave reason for Antonio to go back to the Danze Città. It was his second visit there when he got to meet Lovino Vargas. Then Lovino Vargas ran away and for some reason, he and Antonio allied with Mathias' competition and helped them with their task. It all went downhill for Mathias from there on. Yes... It turned to tragedy.

So when Mathias sat down and thought about it, things really did begin with him.

Him and the fact he let Clara's brother die even though he gave Clara his word.

**_-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_**

**_And so we cut off there! The next chapter homes right in on Antonio and Mathias arriving at the city in which the former meets Lovino. Now we can start delving into why Lovino left and from there, have more questions answered, yes? Okay w/e, review or something?_**

**_Adios!_**

**_Mel-Girl._**


End file.
